Emma Hamilton

Emma Hamilton (Lady Hamilton) (c. 1765 - January 15, 1815) is best remembered as the mistress of Horatio Nelson and the mother of his illegitimate daughter, Horatia.

She was born Emma Lyon in Cheshire, England, and brought up at Hawarden. By 1782 she was already notorious in London society, having been the mistress of several men and having "posed" as the "Goddess of Health" for James Graham[?], a Scottish "quack". One of her lovers, Charles Greville, introduced her to his uncle, Sir William Hamilton[?], a diplomat, whom she married in 1791 after living with him in Naples. She became a close friend of Maria Caroline, wife of King Ferdinand I of Naples], as a result of which she met Nelson and soon became his mistress. Their relationship seems to have been tolerated, and perhaps encouraged, by Sir William. Horatia was born in 1801, and Sir William died in 1803. Nelson, being already married, could do no more than acknowledge his child. After his death, Emma quickly went through the inheritance she had received from Sir William. By 1813, she was deeply in debt. She died in Calais in 1815 at the age of 50.